BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC – The Belize Senate has approved legislation amending the Marriage Act, raising the legal marriage age to 18 years, and eliminating the provision allowing parents or guardians to consent to the marriage of minors. The legislation was driven by young people who brought the issue to the House of Representatives. The legislation received unanimous support from the Senate, including endorsements from the Leader of Government Business, Eamon Courtenay, and his counterpart on the opposition bench, Mike Peyrefitte. “Madam President without any contradiction or condition, it is the position of the members of the Senate and indeed the government of Belize that this Bill is important,” Courtenay said. “It is transformative, in the Belizean people’s interest, and we seek the support of the entire Senate for this modernising piece of social legislation. Madam President, we are debating a matter of constitutional importance. “This is a human rights issue. I put it as high as that because for too long, we have allowed in our country infants to be married and infants to be married with the consent of their parents,”  he added. For his part, Peyrefitte said there have been instances when children are pressured to, in some cases, some would say practically sold off to grown men who want to marry little girls, especially because that’s the target of that criminal activities that have been taking place in terms of this consent. “Madam President, what I know for sure, in the criminal courts in particular, you would have these men who would commit the crime of unlawful carnal knowledge, who would be engaged in sexual acts that young girls under 16, to protect from prosecution, they would go and bribe the parents or bribe the people to have these children marry them so that they can’t under the law, as their wide, testify against them in a court of law, which gets them scott free from that very egregious crime.” Peyrefitte described the amendment as “a very good piece of legislation,” adding “I think that marriage is such as serious act and a serious responsibility that you can only be engaged in that act on your own free will”.

New York (CNN) — The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial has adjourned his sentencing, which was set for next week. Judge Juan Merchan also agreed to hold off on issuing his decision on presidential immunity until after he reviews the parties’ filings. Merchan granted Trump’s request to file a motion to dismiss the case, ordering his legal team to submit their papers by December 2, and prosecutors have a week to respond. Trump’s team wanted to have until December 20 to file their paperwork. The judge did not set a new sentencing date or make any further statements about the delay. Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump, called Mechan’s decision a “decisive win” for the president-elect. Trump’s legal and political fates have seen an abrupt turnaround a year after he was facing four separate indictments. In light of his election victory earlier this month, Trump’s two federal cases are winding down, while the Georgia state case has long been dormant and the New York case is poised to end indefinitely without a sentence. In a letter to Merchan earlier this month, the district attorney’s office also acknowledged that Trump is not likely to be sentenced “until after the end of Defendant’s upcoming presidential term.” Although District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, has said Trump’s felony conviction should stand, a source close to the district attorney’s office said it is open to a four-year pause of the case. Trump’s lawyers have argued his conviction should be tossed both because of the presidential immunity decision and his return to the White House. Trump was convicted in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records over payments made to his then-lawyer Michael Cohen to reimburse a $130,000 hush money payment made to adult-film star Stormy Daniels to keep her from speaking out about an alleged affair before the 2016 election. Trump has denied the affair. His sentencing, originally scheduled for July, was delayed twice after the Supreme Court’s immunity decision prompted Trump’s lawyers to file a motion to vacate the conviction. That effort, along with other tactics, including seeking to move the case into federal court, further delayed the proceedings and prompted Merchan to push the sentencing decision and a ruling on immunity until after the November election. (Photo: Charlie Riedel/AP)

Buyers caution. That’s how Hyundai Sales Manager at Courtesy Garage Ryan Morris described the state of the EV and hybrid vehicles in recent days as they introduced the all-new Hyundai Kona N-line Thursday. He gave details of the current state of affairs. The company official said plans are in place for the safety and use of renewable energy vehicles.